Local Interest
Anzac Day April 25th
The anniversary of the ANZAC memorial is significantly one of the most important national anniversaries for Australia and New Zealand. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by the two nations in World War One.
When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and the new federal government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople( now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.
Although the events of this action are well documented sometimes it is necessary to remind ourselves of what happened;
The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. There were many other casualties in this drawn-out campaign, namely the unarmed members of the Salvation Army, members of whom were side by side with the fighting men based a fundamental principles the Salvationist believed; We, the Salvation Army will never pronounce upon the rights and wrongs of a war, we are politically neutral.
The Gallipoli campaign had a profound impact on Australians and New Zealand ' s at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which we all remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war. Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the“ Anzac legend” became an impor-
10 The MAG Vung Tau